Live Role Playing (“LRP”) is a communal hobby where a number of individuals come together to physically portray characters within a fictional setting. The Equinox Instiute is one such LRP and we want to foster a welcoming, safe and inclusive community which fully buys into the world we have created and stories we want to tell. This is particularly important where participants at our events may not know one another and where our stories deal with sensitive adult topics.
In order to foster a healthy community, we expect all attendees to agree to the social contract which governs how we treat one another and expectations surrounding how we treat the gameworld we have all bought into creating. These rules apply at all times including before, during and after an event as well as online.
Because of the responsibility that comes with their role in assisting with the running of events, there are additional obligations which also fall upon the Game Team. These are also clearly set-out below.
Individuals who do not agree to the Social Contract for The Equinox Institute are not welcome at our games and may be banned from future Reality Checkpoint LRP events.
If you are concerned that another member of the community is in breach of this social contract, we would encourage you to report this to us via our Complaint’s Policy.
The Three Core Pillars
The three core pillars that apply to all attendees of The Equinox Institute LRP are:
- Inclusivity
- Accountability
- Sincerity
These are set out in further detail below.
Inclusivity
We expect all attendees to actively work towards creating an inclusive space for others. All attendees can do this by:
- Familiarising themselves with our Policies – It is expected that all of our attendees have read and are familiar with our policies surrounding behaviour, content and themes at our games. These exist so we can create a safe environment where everyone is clear on what is expected of them and others.
- Being welcoming – Actively introducing yourself to people who you do not know or introducing others to new people helps foster an environment where no one feels left out. This applies equally in-character as it does out-of-character.
- Creating opportunities for others – All attendees and characters at The Equinox Institute are important parts of our narrative. We ask our attendees find methods of involving others in their roleplay and be mindful of their own actions. This includes when they may be taking away opportunities from others to engage with the game – especially for those who may have additional access needs.
- Supporting other people’s ventures – We look to support and promote other people’s LRP systems and encourage others to avoid badmouthing other games at our events or within our online community. LRP is a medium that encompasses a significant number of stories and event styles and we want to encourage that. The exception to this is where a LRP team or community is unsafe and attendance at such an event would put others at risk of harm.
Additionally, the Game Team shall:
- Provide opportunities and listen to underepresented groups – Wherever possible, we will create chances for under-represented groups within our LARP community to attend our events. Additionally it is our responsibility to listen to those groups where they have concerns about our approach and to take their comments seriously. For the avoidance of doubt this includes people of colour and disabled individuals.
- Be willing to provide the benefit of our experience to others running their own event – We will provide opportunities for others to learn from us by communicating openly around how we produced our events and by sharing information on how we acheived various elements of our production with other LRP event organisers. As a Game Team we will do this through official channels such as blog posts and email correspondence directly with enquiring individuals.
Accountability
We expect all attendees to be accountable for their actions. All attendees can do this by:
- Acknowledging mistakes – If an attendee challenges your behaviour, you must apologise and back-off. Excuses such as “I was only joking” and “I was in-character” are not acceptable and it is expected that attendees will alter their roleplay accordingly to comply with our policies and this social contract.
- Challenging bad behaviour – If an attendee feels safe to do so, we encourage them to challenge any behaviour at events which violates our policies or this social contract. If the attendee does not feel they are able to do so, they can speak to a member of the Game Team about the incident.
- Checking in with others – Attendees are expected to mindful of other attendees experiences and to check-in with others where their behaviour could be seen aggresive, bullying or physically intimidating. PvP will naturally arise in any LRP game where characters have conflicting goals. The Equinox Institute envisions that PvP will occur between characters and that this will likely occur over resources, actions to be taken or political decisions. We ask that where possible, attendees bring this to other attendees attention prior to commencing such a scene or, if this is not possible, at an appropriate moment after an exchange has come to a natural end. Attendees are asked to respect other attendees boundaries to ensure they do not threaten or intimidate another individual out-of-character.
Additionally, the Game Team shall:
- Where possible, be transparent in its approach to game – where it is safe and appropriate for us to do so, we will share openly our methodology and reasons behind our decision making for the event (whether for rules, plot, policies, logistics or choice of event venue).
- Maintain a regularly updated attendee list for each event – we will maintain a regularly updated attendee list so people are aware at all times who will be in attendance at any given event.
- Maintain a regularly updated list of Banned and Restricted Topics for each event – we will maintain a regularly updated list of Banned and Restricted Topics for each event so attendees are aware of what topics may or may not arise during the course of play.
- Treat all complaints raised via our Complaint’s Policy seriously – we will maintain and actively enforce our Complaint’s Policy to ensure the safety of olur attendees.
Sincerity
We expect all attendees to treat our policies and the game world we have created with the intention by which it was created. All attendees can do this by:
- Treating our rules, policies and social contract seriously – this social contract only functions if everyone agrees to it and engages with it honestly. Attempts to bypass the spirit of this social contract or ignore our policies is considered a breach of this contract and attendees will be asked to leave our game if this is the case.
- Familiarising themselves with our overview of the setting – The Equinox Institute is an alternative modern-day setting which has a distinct timeline of events which are considered official, true and authorative as to what has occurred. Attendees should be familiar with this when creating and acting out their characters at events.
- Playing to the tone of the system – The Equinox Institute is a game rooted in the modern horror genre and deals with serious real-world topics. We want to maintain that tone throughout our events. To assist with this, we ask our attendees to treat horrific events seriously, avoid using humour where this would jeapordise the tone of the event and avoid pop culture references where possible – except where expressly part of the event.
Additionally, the Game Team shall:
- Consider what ways we can improve ourselves and our community – Within financial and personal constraints we will look at what we as a Game Team can look at improving our events and making our community one which is welcoming, safe and inclusive
- Regularly review Rules, Policies, Background and Plot to ensure it meets our Game Requirements – We will regularly review our external and internal policies to ensure it is consistent with our intentions for the game and the community we want to support. Where we make changes to these, we will look to communicate this clearly to our community as soon as we are reasonably able to do so.